One in Five Doctors Report EMR Technology Saved a Life

Practice Fusion, the free, Web-based EMR platform, recently released survey results that found that one in five providers using Practice Fusion reported that using an EMR helped save the life of one or more patients. In this nationwide survey of more than 1,500 medical professionals, a majority (60%) also felt that the technology allows them to provide better care to patients.

According to those surveyed, the EMR feature with the most potential to prevent life-threatening medical errors was the ability to access to patients' health records anywhere at any time (70%), followed by allergy and drug interaction alerts (54%) and the absence of handwriting issues (53%).

When asked about their experience on paper records, the medical professionals surveyed cited lost or missing paperwork as the most common cause of potential medical errors (57%), followed by illegible handwriting (45%).

Key findings include the following:

Of medical professionals surveyed, one in five reported that using an EMR in their practice has prevented an error that saved the life of one or more patients.

A majority (60%) of respondents felt that they were able to provide better care to patients thanks to their EMR.

One third of respondents (34%) reported that they have prevented serious or life-threatening errors with the help of their EMRs.

When asked about their experience on paper records, the medical professionals surveyed reported that lost or missing paperwork had the greatest potential for causing medical errors (57%), followed by illegible handwriting (45%), overlooked drug interactions or drug-allergy interactions (39%), and difficulty accessing records (37%).

When asked which EMR feature has most potential to prevent errors and save patient lives, the greatest number of medical professionals cited the ability to access patients' medical history anywhere at any time (70%), followed by allergy/drug interaction alerts (54%) and the absence of handwriting issues (53%).

"One in five of our users say they've saved a life thanks to our free EMR—and it adds up when you consider we have 56 million patients currently under care," said Ryan Howard, CEO of Practice Fusion. "The positive impact of EMR technology done right is already clear in our numbers. Especially now, at a time where the legacy EMR sector is being criticized for not delivering cost savings or quality improvement, these results prove that Practice Fusion stands apart."